Percussion instruments



July 19, 1966 s. P. ULANO PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTS Filed Dec. 17, 1964 INVENTOR. $0OMON P ULANO BY J. 46w

AGE/VT.

United States Patent 3,261,253 PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTS Solomon P. Ulano, 968 E. Lawn Drive, Teaneck, NJ. Filed Dec. 17, 1964, Ser. No. 419,042 4 Claims. (Cl. 84411) This invention relates to percussion instruments and more particularly to a unique, self-contained percussion instrument which can be manipulated to produce simulated snare drum, tom-tom drum, cymbal, cl-aves and tambourine sounds.

When playing percussion instruments in modern dance bands, it is always necessary for the drummer to produce a variety of sounds. Basically snare drum, torn-tom drum, cymbal, claves and tambourine sounds are necessary. In the past, each of these various percussion sounds has been produced by using separate drums, cymbals, claves and tambourines.

The bulk of these separate percussion instruments renders it very difiicult to transport these instruments to the location where they will be played. Moreover, it is often necessary for a band to move from place to place, for example, table to table, in a dance hall. In the past, the drummer has not been able to move about with the rest of the band because of the bulk of the instruments. This has resulted in disorganized sounds which have not been found to be pleasing to the car. In order to remedy the above problems which are inherent in the use of large and bulky instruments, it has become necessary that a light weight, self-contained portable percussion instrument be developed which authentically produces a variety of percussion sounds.

It is anobject of the present invention to provide a new and improved self-contained percussion instrument capable of providing a variety of accurate percussion sounds.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a self-contained percussion instrument which is constructed in a manner so as to aiford the player the ease of using normal percussion strokes.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a self-contained, portable percussion instrument having facilities for accurately producing one or more of the following sounds, namely, snare drum, tom-tom drum, cymbal, claves and tambourine.

With these and other objects in view, the present invention contemplates the use of a thin vibratory member hav ing a shock absorbing pad fixed to one side thereof and metal sounding members capable of vibrating affixed to the other side thereof. {The thin vibratory member is preferably disposed at an angle sloping toward toward the player with the metal sounding member free to vibr-ate. Striking the shock absorbing pad produces a dull thud and causes the thin member to vibrate, which, in turn, causes the metal sounding members to vibrate, thereby producing a simulated snare drum sound. Also, striking the thin vibratory member directly will produce a simulated tom-tom drum sound.

In a preferred embodiment, the shock absorbing pad is centrally located on the thin vibratory member to permit a player stroking the pad to reach away from the pad to other portions of the member to produce the tom-tom sound. This reaching gives the player the feel of a normal drum arrangement where the torn-tom drums are located apart from the snare drum.

The claves sound may be achieved by preferably attaching Wood sounding members at opposite ends of the thin vibratory member and fixing a second thin vibratory member opposite .the first thin vibratory member to the free ends of the wood sounding members. This arrangement provides a hollow chamber wherein striking a wood sounding member causes a hollow claves sound. With this arrangement, a metal member may be fixed to the first vibratory member adjacent the pad to produce a cymbal sound. Also, the instrument may be turned over and the second vibratory member may be stroked with brushes to give .a simulated snare drum sound. Of course, the instrument may be held in one hand and tapped with the other hand to produce a tambourine sound.

A more complete understanding of the present invention may be had by referring to the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of an instrument including a thin vibratory member, a shock absorbent pad and metal sounding members formed in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the instrument shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a front View of the instrument shown in FIGURES 1 and 2;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged exploded view of the metal sounding members.

Referring to FIGURES 1, 2 and 3, a percussion instrument 10 is shown including a first thin vibratory member 11 which is capable of vibrating when'struck. Any material capable of vibrating may be utilized, for example, plywood or plastic. A preferred material is Upson board under a quarter of an inch in thickness. This material has been found both to achieve a sound and to produce a feeling to the player almost identical to that produced by a standard snare drum.

Thin member 11 is supported on an incline by wood sounding members 12 and 13 supported on a horizontal, second thin vibratory member 14. A shock absorbing pad 116 is fixed to the center of the upper surface 17 of member 11 leaving a substantial portion of member 1 1 exposed about the pad. As seen in FIGURES 1 and 2, a support block'19 is attached to the underside 21 of member 11 opposite pad 16. Two pairs of metal sounding members 22 are loosely supported by fasteners 23 which extends through apertures 24 (only shown in FIGURE 4) in members 22 and terminate in support block 1'9.

Pad 16 is preferably formed of rubber and bonded by an adhesive, such as glue, to the surface 17 of member 11. Wood sounding members 12 and 13 are preferably nailed and glued to members 11 and 14 to produce strong connections capable of withstanding constant shock which are inherent in playing a percussion instrument. Members 12 and 13 may be made of wood or any other material capable of producing a wood-like sound.

As can be seen in FIGURE 2, wood sounding members 12 and 13 together with members 11 and 14 form an enclosed sound resonating chamber 25. Support block 19 is preferably nailed and glued to underside 21 of member 11 and serves to position metal sounding members 22 centrally Within chamber 25. As seen in FIGURE 4, members 22, for example, commercially available tambourine jingles, are dished. The fastener 23 is shown as a nail with a washer 26 inserted about the fastener to facilitate keeping metal sounding members 22 from slipping over head 27 of the fastener. Of course, any type of suitable fastener may be used, such as a screw with a large head, thereby eliminating the need for the washer.

In use, vibratory member 14 is positioned on a support such as a table. A player then sits or stands in front of instrument 10, as viewed in FIGURE 3, with member 11 slanting upward and away from the player. This is the normal position of a snare drum, thus rendering the player fully at ease with this new instrument. Striking pad 16 with drumsticks causes a thud and member 11 vibrates causing members 22 to jingle within chamber 25 giving a simulated snare drum sound. Since metallic members 22 are centrally located with respect to member 11, striking the surfact of member 11 about the pad will give a dull resonant sound with little or no metallic jingle simulating a tom-tom drum. A player must reach from pad 16 to surface 17 thus utilizing normal motions used in percussion instrument playing.

Striking wood sounding member 12 causes a wood-like hollow claves sound to resonate in chamber 25. Since any forces produced by striking member 12 are transmitted through member 11 substantially parallel to members 22 no jingle is normally produced. Obviously, wood sounding member 13 is not necessary, however, a more authentic claves sound is produced where wood sounding members are at opposite ends of chamber 25.

Turning instrument 10 over with pad 16 on a table, for example, and stroking vibratory member 14 with brushes also gives a simulated snare drum sound free of jingle. As can be readily appreciated, instrument 10 may be held in one hand by free end 28 of member 14 and struck with the other hand to produce tambourine sounds. As shown in dotted lines in FIGURE 1, a metal plate 30 can be fixed to the surface 17 of member 11 and struck to produce a cymbal sound.

Typical dimensions of instrument 10 include vibratory members 11 and 14 which are twelve inches square and a quarter inch thick, a pad 16 which is nine inches in diameter, a wood sounding member 12 which is four inches in height and one and a quarter inches in thickness, a wood sounding member 13 which is a half inch square, and metal sounding members 22 which are one and a half inches in diameter. These dimensions are in no way to be considered limitations on the inventive concept, but rather dimensions which have been found to give both accurate drum sounds and the feeling of playing a standard snare drum.

This invention is in no way limited to the specific preferred materials disclosed, nor the preferred arrangement and method of construction described. Obvious modifications to the basic concept herein disclosed may be made by those skilled in the art and still be within the spirit and scope of this invention. For example, member 14 may be omitted and wood sounding members 12 and 13 directly supported on a table. Further, member 13 can be deleted and member 11 be supported on a table by only member 12. This arrangement would still provide an authentic snare drum sound. Other changes may be made where all of the sounds of the instrument are not necessary.

I claim:

1. A percussion instrument comprising a thin vibratory member, a shock absorbing pad fixed to one side of the thin vibratory member, at least a pair of metal sounding members fixed to the other isde of the thin vibratory member, and means for supporting the thin vibratory member with the metal sounding members depending downward therefrom.

2. A percussion instrument according to claim 1, wherein the supporting means includes at least one wood sounding member attached to the thin vibratory member.

3. A percussion instrument according to claim 2, wherein another thin vibratory member is attached to the wood sounding member so as to form a sound resonating chamber including the thin vibratory members and the wood sounding member.

4. A percussion instrument comprising a first thin vibratory member, a shock absorbing pad fixed to an upper surface of the first thin vibratory member leaving a portion of the upper surface exposed, at least a pair of metal sounding members, a first wood sounding member fixed along one edge to the underside of the first thin vibratory member, a second wood sounding member fixed along one edge to the underside of the first thin vibratory member and spaced from the first wood sounding member, a second thin vibratory member fixed to the opposite edges of the wood sounding members to form a sound resonating chamber, said first wood sounding member having a greater height than said second Wood sounding memher so that when said second thin member is horizontal No references cited.

LEO SMILOW, Primary Examiner. 

1. A PERCUSSION INSTRUMENT COMPRISING A THIN VIBRATORY MEMBER, A SHOCK ABSORBING PAD FIXED TO ONE SIDE OF THE THIN VIBRATORY MEMBER, AT LEAST A PAIR OF METAL SOUNDING MEMBERS FIXED TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE THIN VIBRATORY MEMBER, AND MEANS FOR SUPPORTING THE THIN VIBRATORY MEMBER WITH THE METAL SOUNDING MEMBERS DEPENDING DONWWARD THEREFROM. 